


Don't Move

by Threshie



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Androids, Angst, Comforting Connor, Comforting Markus, Feels, First Aid, Gen, Gentleness, Hurt Ralph, Hurt/Comfort, Kara and Alice Escaped To Canada After Meeting Ralph, POV Markus (Detroit: Become Human), Post-Pacifist Best Ending (Detroit: Become Human), Protective Connor (Detroit: Become Human), Protective Markus (Detroit: Become Human), Ralph In The Recall Center Alone, Recall Center Nº5, Thirium (Detroit: Become Human)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-10
Updated: 2019-08-10
Packaged: 2020-08-14 04:50:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20186548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Threshie/pseuds/Threshie
Summary: After Markus successfully sways public opinion, the humans retreat from Detroit, leaving the androids to clean up the mess. Connor and Markus personally go to tear down Recall Center Nº5, only to find a certain panicked, wounded WR600 who refuses to leave…





	Don't Move

It’s over. Markus can hardly believe it, but all that they’ve fought for has ended the best way that it could have. The military has withdrawn, the news is broadcasting the President saying androids may be a new form of intelligent life, and all of Markus’ dear friends who fought alongside him are still here and alive. 

And they ARE alive. It’s not just a feeling that he has anymore, but an undeniable fact even the humans have to admit. 

In his speech to the gathered thousands of androids, Markus talked about the time for anger being over, how they need to work to become partners. It’s hard to remember that, though, when he goes personally to help see that Recall Center Nº5 is empty before it’s torn down. 

It’s not. 

There are androids too damaged to move on the sidelines, androids too scared to leave the pens they’ve been shoved into like animals. One of the incinerators is closed but there’s pounding on the other side, androids saved by the bell who are trapped inside the death machines until someone powers them back on enough to open the gates. Androids from the uprising are rushing to help them.

Connor is staying close to Markus' side, determined to help in any way he can as well. He said that Lt. Anderson is safe at home after they infiltrated the CyberLife tower together — together! It was suicidal for Connor even passing as someone who was supposed to be there, but the human in the middle of the mess must have also been willing to die to help the androids. Markus appreciates the hell out of him, and looks forward to meeting him.

First, though, Center Nº5 needs to be wiped off the planet. 

“Markus.” Connor is standing over by one of the fences, nodding through the bars. Markus follows his gaze to a drippy trail of blue blood leading up to the lines outside one of the incinerators. There’s an android sitting on the ground there, one leg bloodied, shouting at the small group of androids who are trying to lift him to his feet.

“Leave him alone! Don’t touch him!” The wounded man’s voice wavers like he might snap; he’s clearly terrified, but he also takes a swing at any android who dares get near him. “GO AWAY!”

Markus glances at Connor, sees understanding in his brown eyes, and hurries through the gate and over to the crowd.

“Step back,” Markus tells the assembled androids, all AP700s who followed Connor here. They have very little life experience, and probably don’t understand why a fellow android is so afraid of them. They step back when Markus holds his hands out, directing them away. 

The android on the floor is a WR600. Markus can see now that he’s closer up that the gardener is badly damaged on his face, a large gash-like burn mark sunken in over his left cheek and part of his jawline. His left eye is blackened dark, too, and even without his skin it’s clear that his arms and legs are battered, especially his hands at the knuckles. 

Slowly, Markus sinks down to one knee to try and make himself less threatening. The WR600 stares at him, his head twitching to one side. He’s shaky in a jittery, jerky way that isn’t from damage — it’s like he’s got a nervous tic.

“No-one will hurt you,” Markus says gently, holding up his hands with the palms out. He can see bullet holes in the WR600’s bloody leg, and feels so much empathy for him that it hurts. Even without the gunshot wounds, this kind of damage had to have been done by someone on purpose. Someone tortured him.

“Stay back! Ralph can’t move he’ll die if he moves they’llshoothim againthey’llshoothimthey’llshoot!” The injured android tries to swing at Markus, but Markus is just out of his reach. Blinking at him, shaken, the WR600 instead shields his face with his arms.

“Ralph, right?” Markus sits down on the snowy ground a few feet away, looking over at the poor injured man. No matter how quickly the uprising has won androids their freedom, for someone it will always be too late. It isn’t too late for Ralph, though — he's still alive, and Markus is determined to help him. 

The WR600 sits there for a long moment before peeking over his arm like Markus somehow can’t see him because he’s “hiding.” He cautiously lowers his arm. 

Waiting for a response and getting none, Markus continues calmly, “Ralph, all of the humans are gone from the area. It’s just androids like us now — my people, and yours.”

Ralph starts to shake his head immediately, muttering, “No, nonono, they can shoot even when they’re not here, they’ll shoot, they’ll…” 

“The area is under android control,” Markus reassures him. Taking a chance, he leans closer and reaches to lightly touch Ralph’s injured leg. “I know they hurt you, and I want to help. You’re losing blood — will you let me help with that?”

Ralph jitters in place, mismatched eyes sweeping quickly over the distant circle of AP700s. When he sights Connor, his eyes widen and he covers his face again. 

“NO! Ralph’s not going anywhere!”

“Then we’ll patch you up right here,” Markus says reasonably. “How about that?”

Connor steps over and kneels down, too, handing Markus one of the makeshift android first aid kits Jericho put together from what parts they had before the final march. It has some blue blood, tools for cauterizing, and some minor biocomponents. 

“Ralph and I have met each other before,” Connor admits to Markus, looking over at the WR600. Ralph lowers his arms again, blinking several times. 

“You— You remember Ralph?” He seems stunned by this.

Connor offers an earnest look. 

“I remember you were brave enough not to hide from me when I barged into your house looking for someone else,” he says, tilting his head to get a better look at the burn mark on Ralph’s cheek. “I didn’t intend it, but I’m sure that’s what led to you being captured, so that makes it my fault. I’m sorry.”

Ralph looks between him and Markus, then down at his bleeding leg. Reluctantly, he lowers his arms the rest of the way to the ground to lean on his hands. 

“If you will not hurt him, you can try to fix Ralph,” he allows. Markus immediately starts pulling out tools from the kit, nodding. 

Connor dashes off and returns with a blanket from one of the guardhouses. He kneels down and wraps it around Ralph’s shoulders, covering him from the shins up and from the neck down. 

“Maybe you’d be more comfortable if you reactivated your skin now,” he suggests nicely, taking a seat beside Ralph in the snow opposite Markus. The WR600 blinks, a hand flying to his head like he’s forgotten his hair is gone right now. Almost sheepishly, he touches his right temple, and the illusion of fair skin streams down from his head to cover him entirely. 

Besides the scars, Ralph looks like all WR600s: pale complexion, flaxen blond hair, hazel eyes with slight dark circles underneath. He looks strangely delicate without the reinforced WR600 joints and chest panels showing, Markus thinks. The black and blue burn scars take up almost half of his face, although they don’t reach as far as his nose.

Connor smiles at him and nods his head toward Markus, who is cauterizing the bullet wounds closed in quick, easy motions. 

“You’ll probably be happy to hear that Kara and Alice escaped during my investigation,” he tells Ralph in a friendly tone. “Now that I’m also a deviant, I understand why they were running away…and why you confronted me. I admire you, you know.”

The WR600 blinks and shakes his head slightly.

“Ralph? Ralph is…he’s nobody,” he says in a small voice. “He is glad that Kara and the little girl weren’t captured by the humans. They were going to kill Ralph — they were going to kill everyone.”

Connor rests a hand on his shoulder.

“We won’t let anyone hurt you,” he promises. “Not the humans, not any of their drones or other machines. If you leave this spot and come with us, I promise that we’ll protect you.”

Ralph shivers at the thought, watching Markus pack up the kit. He fidgets when Markus holds out the little can of blue blood to him. 

“You lost quite a bit of thirium,” Markus explains. “You should drink this.”

Ralph takes the can. He looks at the deep blue liquid in it, and his eyebrows start to furrow sadly. 

“Why…why help Ralph?” 

“Because you’re alive, and you’re a person,” Markus replies with conviction, “And I won’t let someone suffer when I can help.”

Ralph looks between him and Connor, who nods in immediately agreement. He blinks rapidly, blue-stained tears trickling down his left cheek and clear ones down his right.

“Yes,” he mumbles, “Yes, yes. Ralph is alive. He’s not defective. He’s alive.” He hugs the thirium can against his chest, half-buried in the folds of the blankets, and sniffles softly. 

Connor keeps the hand on his shoulder to reassure him, looking sympathetic. 

“Ralph, this camp is going to be gone soon. Markus and I are going to go somewhere safe, somewhere out of the weather,” he murmurs. “Would you like to come with us?”

The WR600 has gone silent and shaky, but he quickly nods. Connor pats his shoulder.

“As soon as you drink the thirium then we’ll all go together, then.”

“Ralph’s d-damaged. He can’t walk,” Ralph mumbles, taking a big swig of the thirium from the can. He makes a face as he swallows it, and Connor looks amused. 

“That’s okay. Markus and I can carry you,” he says, meeting Markus’ eyes as he does so. The deviant leader nods, turning to Ralph to pat his other shoulder with a smile.

“Yeah, don’t worry. If there’s any friends you want to try to get in touch with, I could put out a call to them for you, too,” Markus offers. Swallowing another mouthful of blue with a grimace, Ralph shakes his head. 

“Ralph has nobody,” he says quietly, offering the empty can back. “He is alone.”

Markus takes it and sticks it in the kit while Connor stands up and offers Ralph his hands.

“Not anymore.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading my fanfic! This scene is basically a "what if" scenario for Ralph. In the game, if Kara doesn't talk down panicked Ralph in the recall center, a drone will shoot and kill him. Here, with no Kara to talk him down, Ralph still got shot, but didn't die from it, just wounded his leg. It made him slow enough to wind up at the back of the lines, so he didn't make it to the recycling machines before Markus put a stop to the camp entirely. 
> 
> In the game we don't get to see what happens to Ralph in the end, so here is one happy ending for him, after all he's been through. ♥ Comments and kudos always appreciated!


End file.
